Friday, July 10, 2009

Gary Hume, Yardwork, at Matthew Marks [Photographs & Review]

How great is it when you end up being surprised by how much you like a show? Gary Hume lays thick masses of color on his aluminum support, forming delicate little ridges where these shapes meet. The subjects are (at least ostensibly) pro forma - barn doors, bouquets, portraits - but the technique is not. Like JohnWesley'sportraits, these are austere, otherworldly luxuries. Hume isn't as sensual as Wesley, but his minute, delicate details (the outline of a girl's chin, the petals of roses) suggest that - though colder - he may be more interested in intimacy. It is a persuasive, beautiful performance. Yardwork, at the gallery with what may be the best lighting in Chelsea, closes today.